As recruiter’s we understand that communication is everything – right from the beginning of the recruitment process through right to the end. Communication between you and a recruiter should happen every couple of days via email, phone or in person. Relationships you build throughout any recruitment process are important and valuable now and potentially in the future. Oakstone believe that every relationship is valuable.

Recruitment processes can be lengthy, with an executive search position taking anywhere from 2-6 months to fill in some cases. Communication throughout the whole recruitment process is critical, however it’s not always a priority for everyone involved in the process.

Not getting a position at the end of a long recruitment process can be disappointing – not getting a reason why you didn’t get the position can seem unacceptable – and it is! You have invested personal time attending interviews and building relationships with those you have had contact with. You deserve to know why you didn’t get the position, for your own personal development and satisfaction.

If a company has interviewed you a few times and then told you ‘no’ without any feedback you are probably better off without them. They are not the right company. Take away what you have learnt and find something else. If they refuse to give you feedback or take a long time in getting back to you once you have asked for some – move on, don’t waste time investing yourself in something that has already gone. Not all employers are equal and the ones who have no time to invest in the recruitment process probably aren’t the right companies to invest your time in. There are plenty of companies who value the people that interview with them – even if they don’t get the position at the end.

Although the company may not be right for you – feedback is still useful and it can be frustrating not know why you didn’t get the position. Everyone can learn from feedback, and one option is to ask for it. You don’t get if you don’t ask – Ring the hiring manager, HR department or the recruiter you’ve been working with and ask for some feedback on why you didn’t get the position. Dig a little deeper and ask questions about how you could improve in the future.

Be open about listening to the feedback they give you, a lot of employers will avoid giving feedback as they are afraid providing feedback will turn into a difficult conversation. Being open to what they have to say will allow you listen to the feedback properly, make them feel more comfortable about being candid and enable you to take away something useful from the situation.

Choose to work at companies who treat their candidates like they do their clients. If they keep you waiting for long periods of time and don’t communicate with you they may not be the right company to work for anyway.